Field and Computational Studies of Steel Trapezoidal Box Girder Bridges

Details

• Creators:
  Helwig, Todd A. ; Fan, Zhanfei
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Houston
• Corporate Contributors:
  Texas. Dept. of Transportation. Research and Technology Transfer Section ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Bracing Curved Bridges Field Studies Finite Element Method Girder Bridges Steel Bridges
• Publication/ Report Number:
  1395-3
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Texas ; United States
• Edition:
  Interim
• Corporate Publisher:
  University of Houston
• Abstract:
  Trapezoidal steel box girders are seeing increased use in the state of Texas as well as throughout the United States. In addition to a number of serviceability and aesthetic advantages for trapezoidal box girders, the large torsional stiffness of the closed box section is also a major structural advantage, particularly for curved girders. Curved bridges are essential components of the highway system, particularly for efficient transfer of traffic between highway interchanges in urban environments. Although the composite box in the completed bridge has a large torsional stiffness, the open steel section requires a number of internal and external bracing systems during transport, erection, and casting of the concrete deck. This report documents results from field and computational studies on trapezoidal box girders. Field studies were conducted on a three-span continuous curved box girder bridge. More than eighty strain gages were applied to the girder cross-section and the top flange lateral truss prior to girder erection. Stresses in the girder and bracing members were monitored during erection, construction, and subsequent live loading. The construction of the box girder bridge was simulated with a three-dimensional FEA model of the quasi-closed steel section. Results from the field studies were used to study the girder behavior during construction and also the interaction of adjacent girders during live loading.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  0-1395
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0f6719b500f9df904cdc82c5f5081b12f195a72dfb9cd9a3fd73ba336ba75a7e4a6dbba4ae3384377a7c40e790788e96df8a49a78ccbb25c2c9ddd3333b098da
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/82705/dot_82705_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 9.75 MB ]